


Heartbeats

by RecordRewind



Category: Venom (Comics)
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe, Babies, Bathing/Washing, Declarations Of Love, Domestic Fluff, Drabble Collection, Fluff, Introspection, Kissing, Other, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-06-25 12:23:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15640701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RecordRewind/pseuds/RecordRewind
Summary: A collection of Eddie/Symbiote drabbles, requests, and one-shots, previously posted on Tumblr. Tags and characters to be updated."We talk to each other with moods and pictures, memories and heartbeats" (Venom: The Hunger)Latest chapter:a bubble bath.





	1. Heartbeats

The Symbiote had no heartbeat of its own, and yet Eddie felt it pulse all the same. Sometimes it had been an arythmic, frenzied beat, racing up and accelerating his breath to the point of choking. It had been slow and dragging, weighing him down, clogging his mind and making him groggy, lethargic. Sometimes he had forced it in turn, trying to control it, he had fought it. Sometimes, they had been perfectly in sync. 

When they were separated at last, his body had fallen silent.

It had been different with Toxin. The silence, after it had gone, had been different. It was full of sadness, of resignation. It hurt, without the anger.

The silence that his  _other_  had left was a raging void that ached to be filled. And filled it had been… with a searing hot crave for vengeance. With cold resolution. With a mission.

It took him so long to understand.

Hate melted, and it revealed silence hidden inside, yet again, and the clear awareness of something he had always known. He called it his other self, after all.

The Symbiote had no heartbeat, and yet now Eddie felt it strain to pulse in time with his own, and doubled the effort. Quickening it, slowing it down, keeping it steady. Both of them afraid to push too much, both of them determined to never pull back. Together, they strived for balance.

Together, Venom’s heart pounded.


	2. No Lips, Please

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Set in the same alternate version of events of Cards on the Table)

 

 

“This is really weird,” Eddie said. He seemed intrigued though.

The Symbiote looked up from where it was crouching on the floor, tall enough its head was almost level with the man sitting on the low couch. It tilted its head to the side. Its tongue lolled lazily, before it pulled most of it back into its mouth.

“ _ **It**_ **feels _weird_** ,” it spoke carefully. “ ** _Not used to it anymore. Was so little used to it, even before. Always easier not to mimic my host’s shape when not fused…_** ”

Eddie nodded. It was indeed a curious thing, seeing his other in front of him perfectly mantain Venom’s imposing figure instead of being its usually amorphous mass, all writhing tentacles and soft slime, or of shifting into a snake-like shape. 

“Did you ever do it recently, beside of when you were bonded with Flash?”

The Symbiote’s white eyes narrowed slightly. “ ** _When with Price. Couldn’t…_** ”

Eddie saw the jet-black surface of its shoulders and arms tremble, becoming softer, losing definition…

“Hey,” he opened his arms, and the Symbiote moved closer, kneeling. It wrapped its arms around Eddie’s waist, and rested its head on his thighs.

“ ** _…Had to be close to him but couldn’t bear to. So i tried to keep separated as much as i could. I was so weak…_** ”

“You don’t have to worry about that anymore. You are safe now.” Eddie felt the Symbiote’s body become definite and solid again, as he caressed its head and muscular back. Holding it like he would a different person was an unusual sensation, but not an unwelcome one.

“ ** _I am happy now_** ,” the Symbiote said.

Eddie smiled. “Good to hear, darling. Me too. So…” He pulled it up a little so he could stroke its cheek. “What do you want to do? Unfortunately we can’t exactly go out for a stroll in the park, not at this time of the day anyway, but we can find something for sure…” Flash had explained to him that the Symbiote being able to mantain this more definite form was an indication of good health, above all psychological, so Eddie figured it was good exercise to try and do things together while it was feeling up to stay like this.

“ ** _Watch television_**.”

Eddie almost snorted. “ _That_ is what you want to do? Alright…” He scooted to the side, chuckling, and the Symbiote climbled on the couch… and then over his lap.

“ ** _Watch television later_** ,” it clarified. Its tongue slipped out between his fangs, and it licked Eddie’s cheek, leaving a wet trail that didn’t bothered him in the least. The man grinned, resting his hands on the Symbiote’s hips, then he leaned up to place a kiss on the corner of its maw. Under his lips, he felt the skin melt and shift and when he pulled back he saw that Venom’s sharp fangs had been covered by newly formed lips. 

“Interesting…” He murmured, right before the Symbiote’s mouth covered his. He closed his eyes.

They kissed, slowly, experimenting the new sensation. Eddie was conscious the Symbiote was savoring this unusual way of feeling him, and was set on having it enjoy itself. He coaxed its mouth open, tasting the familiar shape of its teeth, then grinned into the kiss as he felt the tip of Symbiote’s tongue. Their kiss turned open-mouthed, tongues sloppily working against each other, and when Eddie opened his eyes again he was greeted by a crescent of sharp fangs, lips disappeared. A mouth big enough it could swallow his face whole. He smirked, an eyebrow raised.

“ ** _Sorry_** ,” it said, almost sheepishly. “ ** _i tried, but i feel better like this._** ”

“Don’t be sorry, love.” Eddie leant in to kiss the edge of its jaw, his grin growing even wider as it licked his lips. Both basking in the affection resonating through their bond.

“I prefer you like this too.”


	3. M&Ms

“Brain-eating plants.”

Sitting in front of her desk, Eddie returned Jennifer Kao’s look with some skepticism. “Excuse me, can you repeat that?”

“You heard it. We had two different sources send us emails detailing how they’ve seen people attacked by…” she glanced at her tablet. “…quote-unquote ‘carnivorous flowers biting into their heads’ and 'beanstalks growing out of their brains’.”

“Reliable sources, I guess.”

“Concerned citizens whose worries haven’t been given due weight by other news outlets.” She didn’t even blink. “It’s in your area of the city, Brock. Bring me something to publish.”

“They can’t even agree on what kind of plants it was…”

“That’s why you need to investigate,” The woman smiled. “We wouldn’t want to give our readers anything but the facts.”

Eddie thought about the conversation again later in the afternoon while he was queueing at the bodega, to buy his dinner. Brain-eating… now, _that_ brought back some nasty memories. He sighed. _Maybe I should buy some chocolate and see if those plants like it…_

With the chemical exchanges between their bodies reaching a stable balance, the Symbiote’s actual need for phenylalanine had acquiesced, but the alien still craved chocolate out of pure love of it. The Klyntar actually liked it to the point that eating it made its senses flare up and Eddie could taste it too even if they weren’t fused as one. Which could be nice… or unsettling, depending on the moment.

Like when it happened right now, while he was in the middle of the aisle.

Eddie felt his mouth water, and a sweet taste on his tongue, and groaned mentally.

_Did you steal chocolates from the shelves again? I thought we talked about it…_

_**did not!**_ the Symbiote sounded almost offended. _**promised never to. it was given to me**_

_Given by who?_

Eddie glanced at his shoulder and saw the Symbiote’s worm like head peeking out from the rim of his jacket’s collar, looking behind his back with tiny bright eyes. The man glanced back too, then he lowered his gaze.

A little girl was standing right behind him, maybe seven or eight years old. She was holding a bag of M&Ms and she briefly looked at him, then she brought her attention bck to the Symbiote, who waved at her with a thin tendril. The little girl took a couple more candies out of the bag, and the Symbiote started to extend the tendril…

“Martina! I told you not to open that yet…” A woman, who had been standing in the aisle next to the girl, busy reading the back of a box, frowned at her.

Eddie quickly pressed his hand on the Symbiote, ignoring the miffed noise it made in his mind and pushed it inside his jacket. He risked glancing back again and saw the girl was still looking at him, her eyes wide. He turned and walked to the counter, sighing. He hoped the Fact Channel wouldn’t soon receive a mail about weird, chocolate-craving creatures terrorizing kids in bodegas…


	4. The Hunt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Set in the same alternate version of events of Cards on the Table)

 

 

Venom prowled along the wall of the tall building, his dark shape blending with the long shadows cast by moonlight, almost as if it was a liquid thing. He surveyed the dilapidated street spreading out below. Cracked concrete, boarded or walled up windows and door frames, not a soul in sight. He could see his target, another building whose roof was marked by an old billboard, still bearing the faded out markings of what it used to advertise.

Five-hundred and fifty yards, six-hundred at most. He could risk alerting his pursuer and sprint to it.

He growled, so low and rumbling into his throat that it was perceivable only as a vibration from his body to the wall. Every instinct in him was rebelling against this. Urging him to be done with hiding, with behaving like a damn _prey_. _Screaming_ at him to face his hunter. In any other situation he would have.

But. This time the rules weren’t up to him.

He pushed ahead, moving in a way that seemed impossibly silent, given his massive body. Tendrils elongated from his arms and feet to grip at the bricks, as he neared the corner of the building, preparing to dash. He stopped to assess the situation a last time.

At that moment he saw it. The silhouette of his chaser, crouching on the corner of an eave across the street, still as a statue. Lean and slender, almost diminutive, but he, of all people, knew very well how misleading that first impression was. All jagged spikes and coiled strength. The chaser turned to look at him, and even if he couldn’t see it Venom _knew_ she was smiling.

She, _they_ , found him, and they were waiting for him to make the first move, so they could trap him.

His rage simmered, but he kept it in check as hunter and hunted looked at each other, caught in a deadlock. Then, drawing the same breath, they acted.

Venom propelled forward, and at the same time he swiftly extended a tentacle, grabbing the concrete and hauling himself down. The abrupt change of direction was fast enough the chaser was taken by surprise, but she was even faster in reacting, hitting the wall with her feet and darting after him. Venom landed on the pavement and immediately dived to the side, but a glance made he quickly realize that the chaser wasn’t close on his tail where he expected her to be.

A split-second later, the chaser landed in front of him, dashed forward, and Venom didn’t back away quick enough.

A hand was pressed flat on the white symbol on Venom’s chest. The chaser’s face was inches from his snarling maw…

“ _Tag_ ,” Mania said.

Venom swallowed his roar of rage. He straightened up, as Mania somersaulted back and landed gracefully on the top of a fence. The symbiote slipped away from the lower side of her face, revealing Andrea’s smug grin. “Ha! You’re it, and we’re very close to the goal. Want to concede?”

“You wish, kid.” Venom grumbled. “It was about time we got to stop playing defense. We would start to run, if we were in your shoes…”

“No, you wouldn’t.”

“Maybe not. Playing the prey is tiring to us…”

“Go tell that to coach, he was the one who decided the rules. And you know how…” She stopped abruptly, and the symbiote covered her whole face again in a flash. Mania jumped up, grabbing on to a windowsill and narrowly avoiding the grasp of the long tendril Venom had been extending while they were speaking.

“Cheat!” Mania exclaimed.

“It’s the final stretch, we say let’s stop playing by the rules and make things a little more interesting.”

“Oh, so that’s how you want to do this? Alright, old man, let’s see what you got!” And with that she dashed, climbing up the wall one quick jump after the other and stopping to hang from a drainpipe. “What are you waiting for? Catch us if you can!”

Venom didn’t need to be told twice. He launched himself in pursuit, letting out a laughter so savage it resembled a roar.


	5. Exercise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original tumblr post and prompt suggestion [here](http://rec-rewind.tumblr.com/post/177457928379/exercise-drabble-venom)

_Four… Five… Six…_

Eddie had begun the final sets of exercises. His muscles were burning, and sweat was dripping down his furrowed brow. Entwined with every fiber of its host’s body, the Symbiote perceived how each bicep curl strained his muscles, brought them closer to a breaking point. Time and time again they were damaged, and then they were mended and made thicker. The process was time-consuming and painful. Inefficient.

This was something that Eddie shouldn’t have to do.

_Eleven… Twelve… Thirteen…_

While it was true that Venom’s overall mass and strength had the physical conditions of the host as the starting point, the Symbiote could bulk its host up quite a lot. So, such exertion was unnecessary. And while yes, the endorphins peppering Eddie’s satisfied exhaustion after each training session were delicious, and the Symbiote loved lapping at them, they couldn’t be worth it, on their own. No, there were other reasons.

_Twenty-seven… Twenty-eight…_

Small black drops bubbled up on his skin, joining each other and shaping into thin tendrils that weaved abstract patterns all over his forearm, following his bulging veins up to his hand.

Eddie smirked.

“No cheating, this time, love…” he said.

_**wasn’t going to. i just want to see…** _

The man chuckled through gritted teeth. “Then be my guest…”

He counted up to forty repetitions, then he passed the weight to his left hand, and the Symbiote followed, other tentacles reaching to his shoulder and his waist, rippling over his abs.

Feeling the muscles contract in a controlled effort, both over and under his skin.

Watching him without a need to look at him through its eyes.

The Symbiote had learnt about this. It had learnt that Eddie did not desire for his sore body to be healed immediately after he put it through this endeavour, that he craved for the burning feeling that followed, for the exhaustion.

It had observed how the exercise had changed through the years. In the early times of their union the sessions had almost a punishing quality, Eddie would have pushed himself past his limit every time, treating his working out almost like a battle against his own body.

Now, while he still couldn’t maintain a regular sleeping or eating schedule, he would follow his carefully planned training routine with a dedication that bordered on the religious, start to finish. Every alteration to it was decided beforehand, studiously. He would have to improvise with the gear, occasionally, because of their sometimes precarious living conditions, and yet the exercises would be done without fail, and new gear would be acquired as soon as they found a stable place to stay.

Whatever might be the reasons, working out was something that did Eddie good, that grounded him. As such, the Symbiote had concluded that it didn’t need to understand it in order to appreciate how it made him feel better. And beside that…

The Symbiote stretched out even more, covering his collarbone, his pectorals, losing itself as it trailed each and every movement of his body, the inflating of his lungs, the steady, just a little quicker, drumming of his heart.

There was a peculiar enjoyment to be found in feeling the purely human strength of his host, of his Eddie. In watching how he did this, in his dedication, in his purpose. The Symbiote had given up explaining that to itself, a long time ago. As with many other matters pertaining to Eddie… it just was.

Then the Symbiote noticed that Eddie had slowed down, and it peeked through his fingers around the weight, dilating, opening its eyes to look at him questioningly.

_**are you alright?** _

“Just wondering how am I supposed to finish with you looking so… distracting, darling.”

 _ **oh, is my watching you a distraction?**_ ****the Symbiote tried to sound concerned, but its amusement was lighting up their bond, like many small electric sparks.

The man lowered the weight, and lifted it up again, very slowly, his eyes following the way the Symbiote used its whole body to trace every movement of his muscles, like liquid velvet clinging to his skin, dollops trickling up and down his arm.

“Very much so,” Eddie said, smiling. “Don’t stop.”


	6. Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set in the same AU of cards, a couple of weeks after the baby symbiote's birth.

 

 

“Do you mind if I take a picture? I want to show it to Andi…”

Eddie shrugged, and Steve sighed.

“I feel compelled to mention that this would represent a security breach,” the doctor said. “If only in case Ms. Allan reviews the footage.”

“Sure.” Flash looked up towards the security camera in a corner of the laboratory’s ceiling, cellphone already out of his pocket, and waved at it “Hi, Liz.” He placed a hand over the glass surface of the tank and looked at the baby symbiote more closely. The small blob backed a little, and then slithered forward and reached out with a tendril to brush the glass where the man was leaning on.

Flash's grin grew larger. He glanced at Eddie, who was watching him with an amused look. “Does it have to stay inside this tank?”

Eddie nodded. “For the moment. The baby’s birth was accelerated because of the circumstances I told you about, and it is way weaker than a newborn symbiote should be. So for now it is opportune that it stays in a protected environment, and avoids over-stimulation, at least until it is a little stronger.”

“Got it.” He double-checked that the phone camera had its flash turned off, then he snapped a couple of pictures. Of course the baby chose that exact moment to bounce, and then roll from one corner of the tank to another. “Oh, come on…! Alright, I’ll make a video…”

“Do you want to hold it?” Eddie asked.

Flash stared at him “…can I?”

The other man almost snorted. “You should see your face…” The Symbiote’s mass materialized over his arm and stretched to cover it in a black film, then a few lean tentacles elongated and reached up and inside the tank. Immediately the baby’s tiny tendrils wiggled and curled around its parent’s, and the baby was picked up and lifted out of the tank. Eddie held it in both hands, one still covered by the Symbiote’s flesh, the other showing his naked skin, and smiled at it. “We’d like you to meet a friend, darling,” he whispered, and the baby bubbled with excitement.

“Here…” He placed the young symbiote into Flash’s hands, and the other man cradled it carefully. “Hello there, little one…” Flash said, smiling. He lifted it closer to his face, and blinked as it saw a small mouth gape open in what almost looked like a yawn, flashing two rows of tiny, sharp, perfectly shaped fangs.

He was about to point them out, when a tendril shot out and stuck into his nose.

“Hey!” He pulled the baby back, as gently as he could, and was relieved to feel the tendril give in and retract. The baby then latched onto his hands, and even if it hadn’t formed anything resembling a head or a face, Flash had the distinct impression it wast staring at him wide-eyed.

He turned to look to the other occupants in the room. Steve was looking away and trying to conceal his laughter. The Symbiote’s snake-like head had materialized and was hovering right above Eddie’s shoulder. They were both looking at him, but from the way Eddie’s eyebrows were raised Flash could tell the Symbiote was saying him something. Eddie smirked. “You know what, love? I think you are right.”

Flash’s brow furrowed in confusion, and Steve sighed again. “They do that all the time…” he mumbled.

“Yeah, I know how that works,” Flash chuckled.

The doctor nodded towards the baby. “I think it’s better if it goes back into its tank now.” Flash looked down and saw that it was deflating a little, tendrils hanging down between his fingers. He gave it back to Eddie and to the Symbiote, and they cradled it a little more and then placed it back into the tank, where the baby coiled into a ball and seemed to doze off.

“Bye, little guy. Next time I’m bringing you a gift. Can I bring it a gift?”

“If you want to…”

Flash frowned, and then he beamed as an idea struck him. “Oh, I know just the thing! There is this new line of Spider-Man baby toys I saw an advertising of…” He looked at them, to see Venom covering half of Eddie’s face, both sides glaring at him now.

“ **Don’t you even** _ **think**_ **about it!** ”

“…they  _are_  cute.”

“ _ **No**_!”


	7. An Armful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _What if_ , taking from Eddie addressing the Life Foundations symbiotes in _Lethal Protector_ #5. What if that had worked?

-

 

“Come to me, children! And together we may right the wrongs done this day! Come to me!”

His impromptu speech done, Eddie waited, looking expectantly at the five individuals facing him and Spider-Man. They stared back, hostility radiating from them. The woman bonded to the yellow and reddish-black symbiote raised her arm, her fist clenched, readying herself to strike.

This didn’t look so good…

All of a sudden, the green one started to shudder. He clutched his head in his hands and doubled over. There was no mouth on his face and yet they all heard the host screaming in pain… and then the symbiote teared away from the man, who collapsed, and used its tentacles to propel itself straight at Eddie’s face, grabbing onto his head before he had the time to duck. At first Eddie thought it was trying to bond to him… but no, it was just pressing itself against him, emitting a sort of low keen that sounded, if anything, very scared.

Eddie pulled it away from his eyes, just in time to see the other symbiotes abandoning their hosts, leaving them to writhe on the floor in shock and pain. The long-haired woman was the first one to scramble up to her feet again, and she watched in disbelief as the symbiotes launched themselves in towards Eddie too. Acting on instinct, he left the green symbiote clinging to his head with its tentacles and spread his arms, and the next moment he found himself with an armful of small, differently colored symbiotes, in varying states of panic. He looked at them, speechless, then looked up and caught Spider-Man’s equally incredulous stare. That… had worked!

And now?

The woman _screamed_ in rage and lunged to the side to grab one of the guns the guards had dropped earlier. Peter shot some webbing towards her legs, managing to trip her, just as heavy footsteps signaled the arrival of more guards. The two men ran back towards the door Eddie had come from, Peter turning to wall it with more webbing.

“So what’s your plan now?!” he shouted at Eddie.

“I must–ow! Don’t bite!” Eddie shook his right arm until the yellow and red symbiote opened its mouth and let it go. Before it fell to the ground he grabbed it by what, by virtue of being on the opposite side of its mouth, he supposed was its scruff and after some quick thinking he placed it on his shoulder, wincing as it used its small claws to hold onto him. The green symbiote was still hanging on his back, and he was holding the orange, the gray, and the purple one with his other arm, all of them staring up at him with wide white eyes. “… the lab! We must find my other!”

“Oh, great, that’s exactly what we need. Another one of these things!” The web on the door was being teared down. Eddie and Peter exchanged a look, and then turned and ran down the corridor and into another room full of computers and machinery, and, among it all, a tall transparent container into which the black mass of the Symbiote rose and fell weakly.

“There you are!” Eddie ran to the glass container, grinning. The Symbiote stirred and was quick to flatten itself against the glass… and then it realized what its host was holding into his arms. It backed from the surface, its flesh rippling, becoming pointed.

“I know, I know, I’ll explain…” Eddie pressed a button and the container opened. The Symbiote’s body poured out and stretched up to join his host–only to pull back and crawl away from him as the other symbiotes reacted to its presence. It hissed, furiously, at them.

“Hey, it’s alright, they are good. Innocent,” Eddie tried to reason with it. “We can’t leave them here, these people will mess up with them. Please, darling…” The man went down on one knee, placing the small symbiotes on the floor in front of their parent. They pressed together, looking for comfort. The green and the purple ones tried to reach out with tiny tendrils towards their parent, tentatively, while the orange one let out a small cry. The gray one, who was slightly bigger than its siblings, wrapped its tentacles around them instead, as if to protect them. The yellow-red one bared its teeth and growled.

Seconds ticked by, tensely. The Symbiote extended one of his limbs, faltered, and then reached close enough that the smaller tendrils of the children could brush against it, and then curl around and hold onto it. Eddie held his breath.

“Uh… Eddie? What is happening?” Peter asked.

“Those scientists ripped their seeds away from my other, like they were chopping pieces of meat. I hurt too, but that was but a fraction of the pain it felt,” Eddie said, looking at the Symbiote with concern. “I don’t know if it will accept them after such a trauma…”

“And what if it doesn’t?” Peter grimaced under his mask. “…they will _not_ try to eat each other or something like that, right?”

“That’s _sick,_ how can you…” He was interrupted as the Symbiote arched up, enlarging its body and opening its maw… and then deflated and spread out on the floor, tentacles embracing the young symbiotes, pulling them close. They immediately cuddled against it. Even, after just a moment of hesitation, the yellow-red one.

Eddie smiled brightly, as the Symbiote reached to him too, a thick strand taking hold of his hand and then crawling up his arm, spreading over his skin.

“Yeah. Missed you too, my love,” he said, his grin taking a dangerous edge as the Symbiote took its place all over him. “…but now we are together,  and once again… **we are Venom!** ”

And as the five small symbiotes, now secured against Venom’s back by viscous tendrils, opened their mouths wide to roar together with their parent, Spider-Man found himself thinking, again and with even more conviction, that he _really_ should have stayed back in New York.


	8. The Right Words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set right after _Lethal Protector_ , with references to _The Amazing Spider-Man_ #347. Tumblr request from Writingstellar, for a passionate "I love you". Thank you for the prompt!

 

 

“Enjoying the view, darling?” Eddie asked.

The sun was about to rise over the Bay, and Venom sat on the top of one of the Golden Gate Bridge’s towers. The viscous skin around his head had melted away, exposing Eddie’s face to the wind and to the rays of light that were starting to illuminate the sky. He closed his eyes, a small smile on his lips, as both he and his other enjoyed the sensation.

 _ **yes, very much so.**_  That was the truth. The Symbiote had seen a fair amount of impressive views in its life, before its time on Earth. Alien landscapes bathed by the light of multiple suns, skies painted with colors beyond the human perception and imagination. And yet, somehow, nothing compared to this. That wasn’t just because of how it was watching this place through Eddie’s eyes, through the filter of his memory and emotions. The simple fact that it was looking at the view while staying close to him… made it different. More beautiful than anything.

Its appreciation had to reverberate through their bond, or show on its face (which the Symbiote knew Eddie could read in all its subtler change of moods, when other hosts never seemed able to see beyond the most primal emotions it showed), because his grin grew larger, and he reached up to stroke its body with a now naked hand, making it wiggle a little in happiness. That in turn made him chuckle.

More of the Symbiote’s flesh rippled and shifted away from him, gently, till its head was fully shaped, and ropy, almost arm-like tentacles were hanging lazily on Eddie’s shoulders. They looked towards the skyline of buildings, across the bay.

The emotions Eddie felt towards San Francisco were conflicted, difficult to parse. Longing tinged with both regret and determination. But the city had given them a new purpose, and that morning, after a night spent watching over the streets, and about to go back to the underground realm that at least for a while they were allowed to call home, he was feeling content, relieved.

There had been only another time when Eddie’s state of mind had been so peaceful. When they were alone on their island, many months before.

Back then, thinking their mission of revenge finally accomplished, he had even declared that there was no reason for Venom to exist anymore. By all means, that should have filled the Symbiote with dread. After all, symbiosis was born of a common purpose, and it required a shared intent between host and symbiote. The Venom Symbiote had forgotten so much about its past, but that knowledge was ingrained into its very being, branded into its atoms. Eddie not desiring Venom’s power anymore could only mean he saw no use in their union. And truth to be told, the Symbiote itself should have felt the call for a host that would make the best of what it could give.

And yet, against all reason, not even for a moment the Symbiote had feared that it would be abandoned or that it would wish to abandon Eddie. Instead it had basked in Eddie’s serenity, for which they both had fought so hard, and when Eddie had wondered aloud if they should have stayed there, the Symbiote had responded with enthusiasm, its approval lighting up the bond between them.

Symbiosis was born of a common purpose and intent to act.

Could simply staying together be that purpose…?

Later, as they walked on the beach, taking the measure of their new home, Eddie had reasoned that eventually they might have to go back to civilization, though he didn’t seem inclined to do so in the near future. “We could think of this as a holiday. A…” his voice trailed away, but the Symbiote traced the shape of the words into his mind,  _a romantic holiday_ , and it went with the hints it could pick from his memory. Its flesh coalesced against Eddie’s palm. Tentacles weaved between his fingers, and squeezed his hand. The Symbiote felt the small bolt of surprise in Eddie’s mind, and sensed the warmth pooling on his cheeks and neck, his heart beating just a shade quicker. Just as it was about to let his hand go and bury inside his cells again, Eddie squeezed back.

“I think we will be happy here,” he had said, with warmth, and the Symbiote had shivered with pleasure of a new kind. The sensation was almost disconcerting, but the one thing the Symbiote was certain of was that it wanted to feel more of it.

Now their time on the island was far away, and again they were fighting, again they had a mission and an use for the strength they had together, and they were glad they did. But the Symbiote was sure that no matter what they did or didn’t do with their power, or where they were, it would have always wanted to stay with Eddie.

Humans, the Symbiote now knew, had a name for the way Eddie made it feel. And in that moment, in the brief respite they were taking inbetween facing what the world would throw at them, again and again, it was suddenly, incredibly important, that Eddie knew too.

The sun had risen, it was time for them to go. Before Eddie decided to move, the Symbiote took a decision. It twisted so it was facing its host, who looked at it with curiosity.

 _ **i love you**_  the Symbiote thought, carefully, with purpose and clarity. Taking that emotion that had been bleeding into their bond, making it a solid thing and offering it to him.

_**i love you, eddie** _

Eddie’s breath caught in his throat, and he stared at the Symbiote, lips parted in surprise and something into his eyes…

Shock? Confusion? But why…

The Symbiote froze, its elation at having finally found the words scraped by doubt, and it couldn’t bear to reach through their bond, for fear of what it would find there.

Was it mistaken? Had those been the wrong words? Wasn’t this what they… what Eddie…

And then Eddie shook himself and leaned in to pull his other’s face close and press his mouth to its.

The Symbiote pressed back immediately, its flesh losing definition, melting and fusing to his skin, to his tongue, their senses mingling and confusing into each other and pulling back again, to  _feel_  each other. Happiness and relief illuminated their bond, with more light than the sun in front of them could provide.

“I love you too,” Eddie breathed out against its quivering skin. “Oh God, I do. I…” He let out a small laugh. “I never thought I would say these words aloud again.”

 _ **are these the right words?**_ The Symbiote asked, a little nervousness still coloring its thoughts.

“Yes. For you and me, they are. And there are so many others…”

_**teach them to me…?** _

Eddie kissed its face, then the tendril that was caressing his cheek. “I adore you.” He stroke its body with both hands. “You are beautiful.” Purring, the Symbiote embraced him, even as they were still half-fused together. “You are the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.” Eddie took its face into his hands again. “Will you allow me to?” His voice seemed to shake as he asked that.

That was a question that shouldn’t have been worth asking, because they had already given themselves to each other, time and time again. Their union, their symbiosis. Venom.

And yet…

 _ **yes**_ , the Symbiote replied, and kissed him again.


	9. Bubble Bath

 

 

_**eddie, do you think i smell bad?** _

_What?_ Eddie blinked, taken aback by the sudden question popping up in his mind while he was checking the toiletries shelf in the shop, looking for shaving foam.

_Of course you don't smell bad. Why are you asking that?_

_**just curious...** _

The man raised an eyebrow, puzzled. He noticed a few inconspicuous tendrils protruding from his jacket's sleeve, extending in the direction of the bath and shower gels display, before quickly retracting.

_...darling, are you trying to send_ me _a message about my personal hygiene?_ he thought with some amusement. There certainly had been periods of his life when taking frequent showers hadn't been neither an option nor a priority. _I showered after last time we went down into the sewers to check on Tana and the others..._

_**no, that's not it** _

_Then what is it?_ Eddie could tell there was something into his other's mind, something it was trying to hold back. He sent it a gentle, questioning nudge. He felt the Symbiote hugging him a little tighter, and after some hesitation a distant memory was brought forward. It wasn't one they shared. A memory belonging to his other's alone, filtered through senses way different from a human's, and made parseable to him through their bond.

The sensation of floating. Soothing coolness. A gentle touch, kneading and stroking, and...

...rinsing...?

Eddie's eyes widened in surprise at the mental image of a well-known face, looking critically at them through the memory, mumbling something about "...feeling a little gamey."

His fists clenched. Parker had washed his beloved like he was washing nothing more than _clothes._ Eddie felt anger flare up, fierce and protective, at that.

But... that was not what his other wanted to show him. What the Symbiote wanted him to know was how... _nice_ the whole thing had felt.

_...you want me to give you a bath...?_

The confirmation was immediate, and immediately colored by something close to shyness, like cool dew peppering their shared consciousness. As if the Symbiote was feeling embarrassed admitting such a thing.

_**i... would like that, eddie.** _

Eddie opened his mouth, and closed it again, momentarily at loss of words.

His other never seemed to get dirty. Organic or inorganic waste didn't cling to its skin (whatever Parker had been feeling that was "gamey" it definitely was _not_ the Symbiote), and whenever Eddie washed himself, even in the rare occasions when he could take a real bath, his other had never expressed interest in joining the activity, so he had always simply assumed it didn't care for that. The way he could feel its nervousness at having expressed that request gnawing at the edges of their mental connection, however, made it clear how that was a bigger deal that one could expect.

"...Yes, of course." Eddie smiled, shaking his head a little. "Why didn't you ever tell me you'd like that?"

_**i tried not to think about...** _ **him** **_or anything he had done, at first... and then i forgot about it... and then... it seemed silly. do you think it's a silly thing to want?_ **

_Not at all, my love._ Eddie looked at his hand as thin black lines appeared over his skin, and oozed to fill his palm and sneak through his fingers with too many fingers of its own. He held his other's hand tight and brought it to his lips, for a kiss. _I can give you a bath, or we can take a bath together--_ he felt his other brighten up in excitement at the idea-- _whenever you want..._

_**tonight?** _

"Why not?" He glanced at the shower gels display. "Do you want us to get some specific one?"

A tendril shot, faster than a chameleon's tongue, and snatched a light-purple colored bottle.

_**this one.** _ The Symbiote sounded very assured of the choice. **_there's lavender which makes you relax, and green tea which is a natural antioxidant, and no synthetic fragrances. i saw it on tv._ **

Eddie rolled his eyes, chuckling. "You really shouldn't believe everything you see in those commercials, darling..." He put the over-priced bottle into his shopping basket anyway. "Let's go home."

 

-

 

Deceptive advertising or not, that bubble bath had a really good scent. It filled the cramped bathroom as Eddie poured a generous amount of it in the lukewarm water, kneeling next to the bathtub. The Symbiote watched closely, enticed by the bubbles forming, from his shoulder. Eddie placed a hand in the water. "Is the temperature good?"

_**yes** _

_Allow me?_

The Symbiote slithered down Eddie's arm, and out from his naked chest, until it was connected to him only by a few lazily hanging tendrils, clinging right over his heart, and let him collect it into his hands. Eddie lowered it gently into the foamy water.

The Symbiote immediately spread over the surface, thick and dark like oil, almost covering the whole tub. Then it went under the water, taking an eel-shaped appearance, and started gliding and rolling around. Its head peeked up, a pile of foam on top of it and its eyes two happy slits, and Eddie couldn't help laughing out loud. He brushed off the foam, then he grabbed the sponge and started rubbing his other's body gently, in circles and long lines, as he would to massage tension away.

A shiver traveled through the Symbiote's mass as Eddie went on spreading the foam over its skin, massaging limbs that slowly divided and melted together again. A single tentacle had snaked around Eddie's arm and was holding onto him, but the rest of it was left abandoned, floating in the water in a state of complete relaxation. Warmth and contentment glowed in Eddie's mind, making him smile.

_I love how good this feels to you..._ _I wish I knew about it before,_ he thought a little wistfully. _All this time..._

_**told you. i thought it was silly.** _ _**  
** _

"Nothing that makes you happy is silly. On the contrary, it is important. I'm glad you told me about it," Eddie whispered. "Making you feel this good..." He rubbed the tentacle that was wrapped around his arm. A small mouth opened under his thumb and sucked it in, tiny teeth prickling lightly the skin.

"...makes me very happy too."

The Symbiote's body seemed to yield even more at that, as if it was sighing in pleasure. Another tentacle reached up to caress his cheek and he turned his face so he could kiss it. He smiled feeling the familiar shape of fangs against his lips, the sensation never failing to send a shiver down his spine. He started to pull back, but more tentacles grabbed his shoulders, pulling him down instead.

_**come closer...?** _

_Sure..._

Eddie stood up and entered the tub. The water was too cold for comfort, but his skin didn't have the time to cool, for the Symbiote spread itself over him, its flesh kissing him everywhere at once.

Almost fused together, Eddie felt half of his face being covered by Venom's, and nuzzled his cheek against the tongue and the sharp teeth slithering not quite in place... then the Symbiote's mass shifted, pouring in front of him to shape shoulders, a head, a bright fanged grin, and Eddie wrapped his arms around his beloved and held it close against his chest, arms and tentacles alike reaching around him too.

In that way they kept each other close, for the longest time.

 


End file.
